n

n

nHugo is in quite a tight position at the moment - not to mention, an undesirable one even.

nWhen he still did not respond to any of their questions, Damien began to have his suspicions. His younger brother is rarely this reserved and secretive - in the first place, he rarely ever received a phone call from anyone. And if he really is acting the way he thinks he is, he can see only one cause behind this.

n'Is it Aunt Cassidy...?' Damien wondered to himself, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

n'Dad and Uncle are not aware that we sneaked out that night to see Aunt. Heck, they don't even know that I've been sneaking out for a while now. But since that was the first time that I went with my brothers, they wouldn't be prepared for something like this. The secret isn't only mine to keep anymore.'

nNow that they are growing older, Edward is starting to get less strict little by little.

nThat has given them a chance to sneak out that evening to hang out with Cassidy and the others. They lied about going to a friend's house and staying out late, and much to their relief, they have not been busted out even now - that is unless Hugo fails to get his way out of this ongoing interrogation.

nSince this will affect all three of them, the eldest decided to step in and save the youngest's butt.

n

"Say, Uncle Bossman, are you gonna be free this week...?

" Damien started out of nowhere, changing the subject and stealing their attention from Hugo - which made the little guy sigh in relief.

n

"Our school will be holding its annual family day. Dad told us that he might not make it since he would be on a business trip or something. Isn't that right, Dad?

"

n

"Oh, ummm... Yeah...

" Edward answered then faltered, feeling like moping at that moment since his son had given up on him so early - he only asked once the other day, and though he no longer insisted, he was planning to cancel that business trip.

n

"I may or may not make it. However, Damien, I could try to-

"

n

"Then, won't you just go with us, Uncle Bossman...?!

" Joshua enthused all of the sudden, cutting off his father and making him feel like moping even more.

n

"It will be fun, I promise!

"

n

"Well, if it's this week, I do have my day-off...

" Adrian thought out loud, considering the invitation.

n

"Alright, then. I'll just go with you in replacement of Edward.

"

nWhile Damien and Joshua cheered at this, Edward eventually started moping.

nUnbeknownst to them, Hugo has been having a panic attack for that entire time - the eldest did not save the youngest's butt at all.

nCassidy will also be going there with them, after all. He didn't tell them that he invited her since he wanted to surprise them. Also, he wanted to avoid having them learn that they exchanged contact numbers because he wanted to keep that secret for himself. What's more, he couldn't possibly tell Adrian not to come since he didn't have any excuses - he himself wanted him to come as well.

nWith that said, he just moped alongside his father.

nThen, later that night, Hugo decided to confront Damien and Joshua.

n

"Big brothers, I know I can't blame you, and I know that you're only trying to help me back there. But I still wanna say that you're such an idiotic idiot...

" Hugo told them with a disgruntled expression, much to their surprise and confusion.

n

"Aunty is coming too. That was the phone call about.

"

n---

n

"Freaking late again...! Why am I always late?!

"

nOnce again, Cassidy finds herself racing against time.

nBeing a businesswoman might not be a fitting occupation for a procrastinator like her. There was never a time she did not mess up at least once. Now, she had to run on heels again after she almost forgot her second appointment with her investor that morning.

nCassidy is now heading back to the office where she first had a meeting with him several days ago.

n'Five more minutes! I can still make it! Let's hope that the elevator's not full!'

nFortunately, the elevator in that building turns out to be empty.

nShe enters in a haste before pressing the button that will lead her to her floor of destination. But then, not even a minute later, the elevator stopped again. Its ascent came to a halt at a particular level, and its doors opened to convey the least person she expected she would see there.

nThey slid open to reveal this one certain hot specimen in his unkempt yet stylish hairdo and well-worn, high-class suit. As if that god-tier look is not enough, it has to be this person out of all people who will bless her eyes with such an ethereal view.

nCassidy is now staring back at Adrian -

nBoth looking shocked and neither expecting this encounter.

nThen, time seems to still right at that moment.

nThere is no mistaking it. Even he doesn't appear like he's anticipating it. His expression is of pure astonishment, and hers is of downright nonplus. And with that, only silence stretches between the two of them. That's until the elevator doors begin to close again.

n

"Oh, I'm sorry. May I come in?

" Adrian started, serving as the first one to react.

n

"Uhhh... Sure, of course...

" Cassidy replied, stepping aside to give him space.

n

"Sorry for blocking your way.

"

n

"No, it's alright.

"

nHe entered the elevator and stood beside her.

nAs it proceeds to move up, she begins to feel her heart pounding in her chest. Much like the ascending movement of that compartment, the thumping sound inside her is getting louder and louder. She is becoming high-strung despite her will, and she feels like running out of breath.

nBut even then, Cassidy struggles to remain calm and cool - like how Adrian appears to be.

nWhen she takes a glance at him, she finds him looking as collected as ever. She then ends up regretting it since she suddenly feels a little awkward - in fact, this whole thing is kind of awkward. What makes it so is the impression that neither of them is showing any sign of saying anything.

n'How could this be? What did just happen? Why in the world is he here?' were some of the questions that were running in her mind right then.

nAlready two floors have passed - still, none of them said anything.

nThat was until Adrian turned a little to the side to take a look at Cassidy. This got her attention, making her look back at him as well.

n

"It's been a long time. How have you been?

" he began for the second time, smiling a little.

nThat's odd.

nShe finds that a bit odd.

nHe said that as if he was asking an old acquaintance - nothing more and nothing less. He said that with the kind of look she remembered he would always use whenever he found the need to talk - not the want. He said that all too casually, and therefore, he said that oddly.

nBefore a certain feeling welled up within Cassidy, she decided to think about those two years again. She told herself that things were bound to change, indeed. So, this is inevitable. And she only had to deal with it the way she knew her present self would have wanted to.

n

"I've been doing fine. How about you?

" she asked back after a small pause on her part, forcing out a smile of her own.

n

"I see. That's good. I'm doing well too,

" he said before ending that conversation by staring straight ahead and falling silent once more.

nAnd that's it - no more words followed.

nCassidy is perplexed more than anything. Though she did hope for something like this, she found it surreal in a way. It's almost hard to believe, especially since she couldn't recall if Adrian had ever acted like this in the past.

nHe would either be cold and indifferent or passionate and expressive - not once did he try to be amicable and detached all at the same time.

n

"Oh, I've already arrived at my floor...

" Adrian then chimed in again, looking up to the floor indicator before turning back to her and sparing her one final glance.

n

"Have a nice day. Stay well.

"

nRight then, the doors opened. He did not spend another second to stall - he left with those words as his last.

nIn deep and heavy silence, Cassidy watches his retreating figure as well as the closing doors. Even until then, her heartbeat did not slow down its insanely rapid pace. It only kept on beating and drumming in her ears.

nCassidy then casts down her gaze and heaves a sigh, wondering what exactly just happened.

n'See? You can do it, after all...' she thought with a smile that did not reflect in her eyes.

n'You can actually move on. That's great.'

nFor what seemed like the hundredth time, Cassidy repressed a certain emotion from welling up within her and focused on those two whole years of separation instead - now that she had confirmed it with her own eyes, there was no doubt that they really had settled down.

n